Instead of the usual trek to Americruise for 2008, the crew at Rod & Custom along with the guys from Street Rodder took to the highway to celebrate the 60th Speed Trials at the Bonneville salt flats in Utah. Bonneville is like no place on earth and "salt fever" is a bug that takes only one exposure to be hooked for life. Once a person makes a pass at Bonneville and then backs it up everything else in life is just waiting. A good example of the dedication to returning to Bonneville each year for Speed Week can be seen in the rusted sheetmetal on the trucks and cars that run there. The staff of CCT was on the road to Reno at that time, so we asked Tim Bernsau, Kev Elliot, and R&C editor Kevin Lee to bring back some extra footage of push, tow, and race trucks doing their thing on the salt for CCT readers.
Here's Joe Casto's '46 Ford...
Here's Joe Casto's '46 Ford sedan delivery at rest after pushing Ralph Stogsdill in the M&S Racing Unblown Vintage Fuel Altered Coupe to run 130.946 mph. Out of Ponca, Oklahoma, Joe's Speed Shop, according to his lettering on the '46's panels, has been at it since 1957.
Check out the white wheelwells...
Check out the white wheelwells on this C10 push truck. That's not white paint with blue lights to look cool, it's pure salt!
Frank Figuls, Yann Bruneau,...
Frank Figuls, Yann Bruneau, Jean Caillou, and Gilles Pujol disassembled this 1955 Motobecane 50cc motorcycle and stuffed it (minus engine and exhaust) into their luggage during their flight from France. The little bugger set two records, one with and one without the sidecar.
Here's a close-up of Bill...
Here's a close-up of Bill Kennedy's '75 Chevy C10 racer. The C/Production pickup hails from Corona Del Mar, CA. and it's powered by a 370-inch engine.
The second year for a Ford...
The second year for a Ford OHV 6 and the last year for a Flathead V-8 in the U.S. here's Ken Cook's Flathead V-8-powered '53 F-100 that went 95.065 mph. The record for XF/Modified Pickup is 96.383 mph ... they almost had it.
Mark and Melissa Gee shipped...
Mark and Melissa Gee shipped their '32 Ford closed cab pickup over from England, and didn't stop driving it until after it had seen the salt of Bonneville and the streets of gold in California.
Not exactly the place to run...
Not exactly the place to run restored classics, this B/MP class Ford "Slick" with a '61 grille, and a '64-66 type Styleside bed is more along the lines of Johnny Cash's song "One Piece at a Time."
Even push trucks need love....
Even push trucks need love. The green liquid puddle under this F-1 makes us think maybe aluminum radiators and salt don't mix.